The future of Canada-U.S. trade talks depends on how Canada’s review of its decision to buy U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets turns out, says President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Canada. Pete Hoekstra told a conference hosted by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters on Wednesday that it will not be easy to restart the now-stalled trade talks, and urged Canada to “harmonize”...
U.S. envoy says Canada needs to 'seriously consider' its approach. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra continued to lash out against the ad campaign that infuriated his president and abruptly ended trade negotiations while on stage in Ottawa Wednesday, accusing Canada of interfering in “electoral politics” south of the border. He suggested that the timing of the ad amounted to...
Ottawa is weighing exemptions to tanker ban for oil pipeline route.Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are moving closer to reaching a deal on the future of Alberta's energy sector, according to a senior government official, and it's likely to include some language about a path forward for the northwest B.C. oil pipeline that Smith has long...
Alberta and Ottawa are said to be closing in on a "grand bargain" that could see a new West Coast oilsands pipeline built in tandem with emissions-offsetting measures, but it's unclear it would be enough to incent private industry to invest in such a project. Federal insiders have told The Globe and Mail that the easing of a B.C. north...
B.C. Liberal MPs said Wednesday the tanker ban on the northern B.C. coast can't change without provincial and First Nations consent. The Globe and Mail is reporting that the federal government, which is in talks with Alberta on the prospect of building a new pipeline, is considering allowing some tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast. Jonathan Wilkinson, a B.C...
The tight race between the Liberals and the Conservatives in ballot support continues with the front runners within the margin of error of each other. Canadians continue to be fixated on Trump/US relations and jobs/the economy while Carney maintains an advantage on the preferred PM tracking over Poilievre.
Liberals hold two-point vote intention advantage, 40 per cent to 38 per cent over opposition CPC. Despite boos for the Prime Minister at the Grey Cup on Sunday, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Carney approved of by 52 per cent of Canadians. He’s disapproved of by 39 per cent, putting his net approval rating at plus 13.
‘Twas much ado about very little. There was a next-to-zero chance of the Carney government falling on the vote on the budget. None of the parties wanted an election. Nor did the population. So, there was lots of posturing by the parties to vote down the budget but make sure the government was kept afloat. The media had to play...
Does Prime Minister Mark Carney want to build a new pipeline to the West Coast, or is he buying time and expecting Indigenous communities and the NDP government in British Columbia to oppose it for him? Ask federal Liberals that question and you get different answers. MPs, who were briefed about an upcoming memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle...
The clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Sabia, who is one of two senior aides managing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s extensive conflict-of-interest screen, was informed by the ethics commissioner weeks into his new job in Ottawa he had investments in Brookfield Corporation.
VICTORIA -- Trade of tens of thousands of goods across Canada's 14 jurisdictions will soon be free after an agreement has been signed between all provinces, territories and the federal government to allow businesses to sell their products across Canada.
There are moments in a city’s history when its resilience is tested — when decisions made in distant boardrooms send shockwaves through our streets, homes, and hearts. Stellantis’ announcement to end production of the Jeep Compass at Brampton’s Assembly Plant is one such moment, threatening the livelihoods of 3,000 workers and shaking our community.
When we were both in office in the 1990s, Canada and China agreed to the sale of two Candu nuclear reactors, marking the largest commercial agreement between our two countries at the time. Many decades later, we continue to see the benefits of that partnership and the construction of more than 30 other reactors built domestically and across the world...
This week's budget drama does not bode well for the 45th Parliament. Is there anyone inside the House of Commons who thinks what the country wants or needs right now is another federal election? And if not, why was there such suspense and drama around this week's vote on the Liberal government's budget policy? As much as those who work...
You have to understand: it was always going to end this way. For all the efforts to hype the budget vote as suspenseful, for all the speculation over what the NDP or the Conservatives might or might not do, for all the indignation directed at the Liberals for failing to negotiate with the opposition, there was never any chance that...
It won’t feel this way to Pierre Poilievre, but the Conservative leader dodged a bullet when Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget cleared the House of Commons on Monday. A Christmas election could easily have buried Poilievre, if not his party. Pace any cheerful Liberals, this doesn’t mean Carney’s victory is a victory for Canada. Early polling about the budget...
Well, that’s settled. Mark Carney’s first budget has passed, the Liberal government lives to fight another day and everyone can feel relief that Canada isn’t getting a Christmas election. But is that relief earned, or justified?
Just like in a game of chicken, Prime Minister Mark Carney stared down the opposition unafraid of a collision, and on Monday the opposition blinked, swerving at the last minute to avoid sending Canadians to the polls again, and signalling to the Grits they could be dealt with this way. None of the opposition parties wanted to lend Carney their...
It seems like not an hour goes by without some political observer advancing their particular version of the thesis that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is “in trouble.”
Losing an election is a uniquely difficult experience. Campaign volunteers, professionals, and candidates put their lives on hold with the expectation that the long days, lack of sleep, and message discipline will translate into victory at the ballot box. Elections breed an all-or-nothing mentality where the ultimate prize is a chance to shape the history books.
With 170 MPs voting for the budget and 168 voting against, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget passed by just 2 votes, putting an end to weeks of election speculation in Ottawa. Notably, both the Conservative party and NDP had two abstentions apiece. Had those MPs voted along with the rest of their party, the budget would have failed, and...
Whether or not Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre can take advantage of the Grits’ ignorance depends on his skill as a politician. Last week, I argued that “the more they move to the right, the smaller the voter base becomes.” Let’s challenge that. Recently, instead of the spotlight shining on the new federal budget, it shone on the apparent crash out...
Canada won’t be able to recruit a generation that can’t afford a future. The raise for Canadian Armed Forces members was necessary, but it won’t fix the real problem. Young Canadians aren’t choosing careers based on wages alone. They’re choosing based on whether a job gives them a future they can actually build, and right now the CAF doesn’t. Not...
Pierre Poilievre didn’t want an election, and he knew that Monday night’s vote in the House of Commons on the Carney government’s first budget would be close. But the numbers that really mattered to the man doing the counting had more to do with voters outside than inside the House of Commons. When any minority government loses a vote of...
Politics over principle is hardly a new story in Ottawa, but Tuesday’s budget vote provided a master class. For weeks the Conservatives huffed and puffed and threatened to blow the Liberals’ house down over their big spending ways. Conversely, the Bloc opposed the budget over its lack of spending on seniors. Green Leader Elizabeth May couldn’t support the budget’s boost...
As the dark days of winter descend, the thoughts of anti-government libertarians have once again turned to convoys. This year’s truck protest, planned for Saturday, is being organized to defend the rights of farmers against Big Government in the wake of a recent controversial cull of ostriches on a farm in southeastern BC.
It’s been two weeks since Danielle Smith ended a province-wide teachers’ strike with the most draconian method possible. Surprisingly, her actions have led to widespread support for the teachers; a notable departure for a province that is not known for its championing of unions and labour in general. Smith resorted to invoking the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights...
It’s coming. That’s the word from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who promised Albertans a memorandum of understanding between her government and Mark Carney’s that would spell out the path for a new oil pipeline — and the promises she would make on things like the industrial carbon price and support for carbon capture and storage projects to get it. “We...
The Carney government’s self-proclaimed strategy of dealing with Donald Trump has been to hope the obvious contradictions in the U.S. president’s tariff policy would eventually compel him to strike an acceptable trade deal. “We are confident domestic pressures will create an opportunity to come to an agreement in the interests of both economies that puts us in a better position...
The April federal election outcome was dramatically different than what many had been predicting – in fact, assuming – only months earlier. What was expected to be a coronation for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre instead turned into a hotly contested, close race that led to a new minority Liberal government.
The Major Projects Office’s list of major projects has gotten longer. The new additions include electrical generation projects, mines, and an additional LNG export facility on the B.C. Coast, and more. It’s a good list. It captures both real economic needs and opportunities, and also sprinkles ventures all around the country.
In both marketing and politics, you learn to live with known unknowns. You can’t control when the environment changes, but you can control how ready you are when it does. As we start this week, that’s exactly where we find ourselves: by the end of it, we could be looking at a snap holiday election, triggered not by desire but...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government may have just inadvertently created a political opportunity for Premier Doug Ford. The so-called “Canada Strong” budget included some alluring promises for Canada’s academic community: $1 billion to recruit 1,000 top-notch international researchers, along with $400 million for infrastructure and instruments to support their programs. Plus, over $250 million for recruiting international assistant professors, post-doctoral...
WITH MORE THAN 400 EMPLOYEES and valued at $6.8 billion, Cohere is one of Canada’s leading artificial intelligence companies. At first glance, it seems perfectly poised to fulfill the federal government’s goals of keeping up with the global AI race and for achieving tech sovereignty from the United States.
The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. Or 20. That’s what I was told by the two retired foresters who put 2,000 one-year-old seedlings in the ground on my farm back in 2017. I had signed on with what was then called the 50 Million Tree program run by Forests Ontario, which subsidized plantings for private...
On Nov. 12, Dr. Ivan Zinger, the correctional investigator of Canada, dropped his most recent annual report on the state of prisons. The truth is harsh: mental health supports in prisons are outdated, without sufficiently trained staff, force is used when mental health and therapeutic interventions are needed, and more. Five federally operated regional treatment centres are “not fit for...
EDMONTON -- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith revealed her government's plan to introduce legislation to let doctors choose to work in the public and private health systems simultaneously.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he's hopeful the federal government and Alberta can make progress on getting a pipeline built and allowing some tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast. Moe says the measures would support Saskatchewan's goal of exporting more potash, agricultural products and oil. The Globe and Mail newspaper is reporting Ottawa, which is in talks with Alberta...
Canada’s top flight aviation industry and aerospace expertise makes it an ideal place to expand aircraft production, including Saab’s Gripen jet fighter, to meet the needs of Ukraine’s fledgling air force, said Sweden’s defence minister. Pals Jonson made the comments on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, David McGuinty, and amid the ongoing debate about whether Canada...
The leader of Ontario's official Opposition was kicked out of question period this morning after calling Premier Doug Ford's government "corrupt." NDP Leader Marit Stiles made the comment as the opposition continued to hammer Labour Minister David Piccini over the scandal-plagued Skills Development Fund. The auditor general found his office has been heavily involved in selecting projects under the $2.5-billion...
Quebec Liberal Party Leader Pablo Rodriguez is calling for an independent, external investigation into what he says are serious allegations related to his leadership campaign. His comments are in reaction to a report by Quebecor about text messages suggesting that members who supported Rodriguez during the leadership race received cash rewards. In a short written statement, the Liberal leader said...
A report from Canada’s victims of crime advocate says survivors of sexual violence are being systemically betrayed by the criminal justice system as allegations are often disbelieved and cases are regularly delayed or dropped.
One day after the House of Commons passed the federal budget, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon says federal public service job cuts will be “minimal.” “I believe that the impact on people – involuntary departures – will be minimal, and that is certainly a desirable thing,” MacKinnon said in an interview with CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday...
Ottawa and Alberta appear close to striking an energy accord long sought by Premier Danielle Smith to boost her province’s oil and natural gas sector, with Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia playing a key role in the negotiations, two sources say. Two federal insiders said the broad outlines of the agreement, which would take the form of a memorandum of...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is on his way to Abu Dhabi today, making him the first Canadian prime minister to visit the United Arab Emirates since 1983. His visit comes as Ottawa tries to drum up investment from sovereign wealth funds and the private sector to help diversify Canada's economy in response to the U.S. trade war.
Formal agreement 'ready to go,' says senior government official. Prime Minister Mark Carney is aiming to sign a formal investment agreement with the United Arab Emirates on his visit there this week, a senior government official told CBC News. “There’s a deal ready to go,” said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. The official said...
Experts say that Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has erred in proclaiming that it is up to the U.S. to decide if it has violated international law. A former Liberal foreign affairs minister and a number of international law experts and advocates are urging Canada’s top diplomat to reverse course on pronouncing that it is the United States that should...
Sweden’s deputy prime minister says Saab is prepared to fill any gap in Canada’s capability needs if the federal government decides to deviate from its American Lockheed Martin deal and purchase fighter jets from several companies. “Saab would be the ones that would have to answer for details of that sort,” Ebba Busch said in an exclusive interview on CTV...
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA -- The Alberta government has invoked the Charter's notwithstanding clause to protect from legal challenge a trio of laws affecting transgender youth and adults.
2 Conservative MPs didn't vote — and 2 more nearly didn't make it. Minutes before time ran out on Monday's budget vote, two senior Conservatives swooped into the chamber claiming their electronic voting app wasn't working and declared they wanted to vote against Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget. MPs Andrew Scheer and Scott Reid, the party's House leader and...
Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs missed Monday's critical budget vote because she is recovering from major surgery, a statement posted to social media said Tuesday. The budget motion passed by just two votes, allowing the minority Liberals to stay in power. Stubbs and Matt Jeneroux were the two Conservatives who did not vote on the budget. After rumours started circulating suggesting...
Despite boos for the Prime Minister at the Grey Cup on Sunday, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Carney approved of by 52 per cent of Canadians. He’s disapproved of by 39 per cent, putting his net approval rating at plus 13. On the other side of the house, the spotlight on Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre...
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly pitted two giant defence companies against one another on Tuesday for the future of Canada's fighter fleet, saying the $27-billion contract to buy 88 U.S.-made F-35 jets doesn’t deliver enough jobs for workers in this country — and that the public expects a better deal.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is travelling to the United Arab Emirates tonight before making his way to South Africa for the G20 Leaders' Summit later this week. A news release from the Prime Minister's Office says Carney will meet with the president of the UAE in Abu Dhabi to expand the Canada-UAE economic partnership in key sectors including energy, agriculture...
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal is asking the government to change its criteria and reissue a multimillion-dollar bid for military night-vision binoculars after finding that the original terms favoured an American supplier over Canadian and European firms.
At the risk of casting a pall over the sense of jubilance that erupted in the precinct last night in the wake of last night’s make-or-break vote, Process Nerd has a message for both the Liberals whose minority government survived its first real confidence test since the fall sitting got underway and their cross-aisle rivals as well, many of whom...
Industry Minister Melanie Joly says the Liberal government believes Canada "didn't get enough" industrial benefits out of its contract for American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets. Talking to reporters on Parliament Hill today, Joly said the government needs "more jobs created out of the F-35 contract."
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday defended making a commitment to carbon emission targets to get the government's spending plan over the finish line. Carney told reporters before the weekly cabinet meeting in Ottawa that he was "very pleased" his government narrowly won the crucial budget vote on Monday night. "This is about empowering Canadians. It's about helping all Canadians...
Canada is “interested” in potentially procuring the Gripen fighter jet from Sweden’s Saab, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said Tuesday, adding that Canada “didn’t get enough” out of the F-35 fighter jet deals from American firm Lockheed Martin. “We’re looking at both at the same time,” Joly told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday
Hundreds of shipments of explosives and fighter jet components have made their way from Canada to Israel by passing through the U.S. over the last two years, a new report by a group of four NGOs alleges, examining export data and U.S. Department of Defence contracts. "These exports are bypassing all of Canada’s export controls because of the way they’re...
At a time when Canada is defending itself in a trade war with the U.S., a new report casts doubt on whether the nation’s immigration policy is able to retain the global talent required to bolster the economy on the home front. Highly educated and skilled immigrants are the most likely to leave Canada within five years of landing, according...
Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare says it is deploying a fix for an issue that caused global outages for ChatGPT, social media platform X, transit infrastructure and other prominent internet services. Cloudflare said on its status page earlier Tuesday that it identified an issue that was impacting multiple customers. There were reports of widespread 500 errors as well as Cloudflare Dashboard...
As Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to Johannesburg for the G20 summit, Canada and South Africa are talking about a deal to boost bilateral trade and investment that could see more South African wine on Canadian shelves in exchange for gas exports. "We are pursuing a strategic partnership with Canada," South African High Commissioner Rieaz Shaik told The Canadian Press...
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government narrowly passed a crucial budget vote Monday, with four MPs abstaining and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May backing the budget. Members of Parliament voted 170 to 168 on the confidence motion that could have toppled the minority government and triggered a federal election. Conservative MPs Shannon Stubbs and Matt Jeneroux, as
Transferring aircraft will help Ottawa meet NATO's new spending target. Transport Canada will be surrendering most — if not all — of its aviation wing to the Department of Defence in a plan that’s shrouded in secrecy. The move of the federal department’s “core aviation services” was flagged in the recent federal budget. It has the potential to affect the...
A dozen former high-ranking air force officers sent letter backing F-35 purchase. Former high-ranking officers of the Canadian Armed Forces are mounting a defence of the planned acquisition of 88 American F-35 fighter jets, hoping to put an end to the ongoing courtship between the Canadian government and the Swedish firm Saab. According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, a dozen...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts.
As President Donald Trump laid it out to reporters this summer, the plan was simple.
New York City's incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, hasn't taken office yet. But he's already the new avatar of evil for conservative media figures.
NEW YORK (AP) -- President Donald Trump denounced ABC News' Mary Bruce as a "terrible reporter" Tuesday and threatened the network's license to broadcast after she asked him three sharp questions at the White House.
OTTAWA -- Canada's reputation as a global climate leader took a hit Tuesday when it was awarded the "fossil of the day" title at the UN Climate Conference in Brazil.
President Donald Trump welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington on Tuesday as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia makes his first White House visit since the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking.
Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare says it is deploying a fix for an issue that caused global outages for ChatGPT, social media platform X, transit infrastructure and other prominent internet services. Cloudflare said on its status page earlier Tuesday that it identified an issue that was impacting multiple customers. There were reports of widespread 500 errors as well as Cloudflare Dashboard...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Friday that he had successfully eased hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand, saying that he'd been able to preserve a previous, U.S.-brokered ceasefire that had appeared to be breaking down.
Violent crime in Canada’s cities has not only risen – it has become a growing threat affecting urban communities across the country. While headlines often focus on year-to-year fluctuations in crime, the Urban Violent Crime Report, Volume 2 reveals a deeper and more troubling reality: over the past decade, violent crime has increased significantly across Canadian cities, spreading beyond Toronto...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Pierre Poilievre’s recent video attacking Mark Carney could have been a strong argument. If not for the air quotes. When he says Carney promised he could “handle Trump” and “negotiate a win,” his fingers twitch into the familiar inverted-comma gesture. It’s a tiny move, but it says everything. Air quotes don’t persuade; they perform. They turn conviction into commentary and...
As Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “Donald Trump wants to break us so America can own us.” But what if Trump decides to use military power along with economic tariffs? An Arctic expert writing in The Globe and Mail says we shouldn’t think of tanks or helicopters streaming over the border. Instead, an American show-of-force could begin with a single...
I am very worried that Canada is sleepwalking into potentially the most dangerous military project since the atom bomb. Trump’s Golden Dome will put thousands of weapons in space – one of the few places where there are no weapons today – and lock us into a new Cold War with Russia and China that will rob our children and...
Mark Carney’s Liberals survived a confidence vote on their first budget Monday night. It was a strange vote, with four members of the Conservatives and the NDP abstaining, as well as some voting chaos from two of the most powerful members of the Conservative Party. CBC’s senior Parliamentary writer Aaron Wherry breaks down how the vote went, what it tells...
The federal Conservatives were still licking their wounds from the Liberals’ recent minority election victory when they were rocked by a stunning and dispiriting floor-crossing. And they failed to stop the government from passing its budget by a razor-thin margin. That was 20 years ago, as Ian Brodie, former chief of staff to prime minister Stephen Harper, reflects on with...
This live event was recorded on November 17 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Hosted by Rubicon Strategy and made possible by our event sponsors Bruce Power, Enbridge Gas, Novartis, Toronto Metropolitan University and the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
It wasn’t entirely clear how the budget was going to get passed, but it did indeed get passed on Monday night thanks to the abstentions of a few Conservative and NDP MPs. So, that means Canadians won’t be called to the polls over the holidays. But the clock on this minority parliament continues to count down. How long can it...
